Soldering unit



w. A. vlNsoN SOLDERING UNIT Oct. 7, 1952 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Dec. 17,1946 /N VEN yTOR new A. l//NJa/Y.

Patented Oct. 7, 1952 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,612,856 y soLnEmNGUNIT William A1. Vinson, Madera, Calif. ApplicationDecember 17, 1946,Serial No. 716,798

a claims. (c1. 11a-1in This invention relates to a heating device, andparticularly pertains to a soldering unit. n

When making permanent connections between electrical conductors andother small metal articles it is usual practice to hold the members inxed relation to each other and to thereafter apply solder to the jointbetween them as a name impinges against the joint to complete thesoldering operation. Joints of this type are often faulty due to thefact that the flame impinges directly upon the solder andthe pointsbeing joined, and for the further reason thatit is difcult to properlyhold the parts in aixed relation to each other while manipulating thesolder and. a blow-torch or the like.y It is desirable, therefore, toprovide a combined structure serving the dual purpose of holding theparts to be soldered and at the same time applying heat thereto withoutthe direct action of a heating iiame. It is the principal object of thepresent invention to provide a portable rsoldering unit having a visestructure with a heat generating unit incorporated therein wherebyarticles to be joined in asoldering operation `may be gripped and heatedby the conduction action of the burner, the said heat unit and grippingjaws being so designed as to prevent direct impingement of the ameat thepoint of union, and to furthermore make it possible for the burner to beeasily adjusted and the gripping jawsto be conveniently set or released.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a fuel tank withwhich a heat generating unit is connected, said generating unit carryinga pair of gripping jaws at its upper end disposed in a manner to beheated by the Vflame produced in the heating unit and toimpart said heatby conduction to the articles gripped.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is an enlarged View in section and elevation showing thecomplete soldering unit with which the present invention is concerned,parts being broken away to indicate the construction of the heatingunit.

Fig. 2 is a view in plan showing the top of the soldering unit, as seenon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View in vertical elevation showing thegripping j aw struc-v f 2 v I0 indicates a storage tank within which avolatile gaseous fuel is stored. This tank is fitted with a threadedplug II in its lower end and a threaded coupling I2 in its upper end.Extending downwardly through the coupling I2 is a siphon tube I3, thelower opened end of which terminates near the bottom of the tank.-`Carried upon the upper end of the siphon tube I3 is a.. pipe elbow I4which receives a tubular connection I5 of the heating and vise unitgenerally indicated at I6. `Mounted upon the tank Ill is a cylinder Ilwhich serves as a handle for the tank and also as the barrel of a pump.This pump is provided with a head I8 at its lower end to which aconnecting bracket I9 is secured. The bracket,l

receives a threaded cap 24 through which a pisprises a tubularcylindrical housing 3D which has l an open upper end 3| and an openlower` end 32. A partition 33 is formed at a point intermediate theseends. A central threaded bore 34 is formed throughL the partition andreceives a threaded bushing 35 which extends downwardly to a point belowthe lower face of the partition 33. The

lower end of this bushing is formed with a central tapered valve seat 36which communicates k with a fluid passageway 31 extending through Thebushing35 is preferablyk silver soldered into place so that it will notbe- The` valve seat36 is designed to receive a needle Valve the bushing35.

come loosened and vary the adjustment.

38 which is secured within an adjusting cup 39.

The adjusting cup is externally threaded and extends into a threadedbore 40 of the burner housing 30. By arranging the members so that thepoint of contact of the valve 38 and its seat 36. are midway the .lengthof threaded torete, expansion and contraction of the valvey due to Theinner l A duct 23 extends upwardly through I heat, will be balanced. Theupper end of the cup 39 is formed with a central recess 4| into whichthe lower end of the bushing 35 extends. Formed at the bottom of therecess 4| is a bore into which the base portion of the needle valve 38is seated. The lower end of the cup 39 is provided with a stem 42 whichextends downwardly through a bonnet member 43. This bonnet member isexternally threaded at its upper end and engages the internal threadscarried at the end 32 of the housing 3|). The lower end of the bonnetmember is counterbored and internally threaded at its lower end andreceives a stuffing gland 44. The stem 42 extends beyond the lower faceof the stuning gland and receives a cup 45 which is keyed upon the stem42 and is held by a nut 46. A winged handle 41 is secured to the nut byopposite trunnions 48.

It will be under-. Y

stood that the winged handle 41 is substantially flat and normallydepends in a vertical plane beneath the heating unit. A guard disc 49 ismounted upon the winged handle to prevent the ngers of an operator fromtouching the hot lower end of the heating unit.` Y

From the foregoing description it will be recognized that the heatingunit is of the self-generating type. Fuel'under pressure from the tank|0- passes upwardly through the siphon tube I3 and then outwardlythrough a duct 59 in the connection l5. This duct intersects a downwardpassageway 5| formed in a rib cast on the side of the housing structure3|). Extending the length of the duct5| is a stern 52. This' stem has athreaded portion at its upper end to engage aV threaded bore 53 and tohold the stem centrallyof the duct. The stem thus acts tov provide anannular-fuel passageway having a minimum to create a back pressureagainst the fuel beingfed to the burner.v The lower end ofthe verticalpassageway 5| isl intersected by a duct 54 which leads into the upperend of the threaded countenbore`39 within which the cup 39 is positionedA removable screw 55 closes the outer end of the duct 54'and makes itpossible for the duetto be cleaned 'when the screw is removed. Disposed4 which stands in opposition to the arcuate wall section 60. Theopposite ends of the vise member 68 are closed by end walls 10 to form ahollow 1| which is slightly larger than the hollow 61 but is opposedthereto whereby a substantially cylindrical heat chamber C will beprovided. Notches 65 are formed in inner edges of end walls 1D which areadapted to cooperate with the notches 65 to form combustion gas outletsO at opposite endsofthe chamber C. Formed at the upper edge lof the wall69 isa movable clamping jaw 15. This jaw has a nat face 12 opposed tothe nat face'63 of the fixed jaw 62. The arcuate wall 63 of the visemember 68 has an opening 13 through it to receive a tongue 14. Thistongue is formed integral with the face 63 of the xed jaw 62 andtherefore provides a bridge across the bottom of the throat which occursbetween the xed jaw 62 and the movable jaw 15. Adjustable liftingmembers 16 also bridge this gap. These lifting members are articulatelyconnected with the movable jaw 15 and may swing vertically in milledslots 11 formed in the movable jaw 15. The free jends of the members 16extend into milledislots 18 lformed in the xed jaw 62. These slots,asshown in Fig. 1, have an inclined bottom wall-"|9''s`othatI themembers 16 may raise or lower indirect relation to the movement of thejaws 62an`d 15 towardv and away from each other. This insuresvthatthemembers 16 will lift the work-'to be soldered so thatit will be grippednear the upper edges ofthe gripping faces 63 and v1-2 to expose the workfor a soldering action. It is to=belpointedout that the tongue 14 willact as lafshield to prevent flame from the heater mpinging-di1ectlyuponthe Work being gripped.

The free end of the tongue 14 extends beyond the around the housing 30in a transverse plane below that of the upper end 'of the cup membervr39 isA an annular heating pan 56 within which fuel maybe burned to heatthe burner structure and produce 'generation' of the gaseous fuel. Theside walls of the housing 38 may be formed with suitable perforations 51in the area above the partition 33.

Mounted upon the upper'open end 3| ofthe housing 36'is a fixed visemember 58.` This' mem-1 ber has ai lower threaded boss 59 into which thei threadedfupper end 3| of the' housing extends.' The visemember 58 hasan outer arcuate wall'I sectiontt]y and opposite side wallv sections 6|.Y Formed integral with the walls I60 and 6| andv f thereabove isaclamping jaw 62. This jaw has a flat vertical face 63 which lies alongthe common central plane of the housing 38. The side walls 6| have lowerportions 64 which' lie along the samel plane while arcuate notches areformed in the edges 'ofthe sidewalls 6|. Y'It will thus be seen' thatthe fixed viseV member '58; is so formed asto define a semi-cylindricalhollow 61 substantially closed at its opposite ends.

Complementary to the fixed vise member 58is The 'movable vise a movablevise member 68. member is formed with an arcuate wall section 69outer-'face of -the portion 69 ofthe movable vise member 68and'provides'a jaw 86 which will cooperate with a -jaw `8| cast integralwith the Wall 69. .These two jaws will coact to provide a set of lhotjaws facing the operator.

The movable vise chamber 68 straddles the vise member'58fand is pivoted-relative thereto upon pins82 carried bythe annular portion 59 of thevise 'chamber- 58. It will thus be seen that the end walls '1-1 01-ofIthe vise 4chamber 68 overlap the end walls 6| -ofthe vise chamber 58and provide a substantiallyv closed heat chamber C beneath the visefjaws 62=an"d'='|5. This chamber includes the hollow="61o'f' the visechamber 58 and the 'i hollow 1| of the vise chamber 68.

Products of combustion-are Jbvented-.through an opening O formedbythecutaway notches 65 and 65 in the end walls '6 land 1|).-` Additionalvent openings 83 are also :provided andare formed through thearcuate-wallsand'69 ofthe two vise members.

The movableI-vise chamber 68 is actuated by a fork 84 whichfstraddlestheelbow |4. The ends of the forkfar'mslare connected to lever arms 85 bybolts 86. '-'Thelever 'arms 85 are formed integral witli'-the'si'de-walls-TU of the movable vise chamberV 68l an'd'extend downwardlyalong opposite sides 'offthe burner housing 38. The fork istted-with-afthreaded bore 81 to receive a pin 88. The pin 88 isformedfwith an enlarged head y89 landde-adapted' to reciprocate within alock-thimble' 99.' Interposed between the head 89 and the endI wall-ofthe thimble is a spring 9| which `tends -t'oghold the thimble 90 againstthe fork 64. Thethimble extends between arms of the bracket 29 an'disstraddled by a lock lever 92 whichr'extends downwardlyv along oppositesides of the thimble 90 and is pivoted to the bracket by pivot ,pins 93.The axis of the pivot aciasss line of the thimble 99. The thimble inturn is pivoted to the lever by pin 94, the aXis of which is on thelongitudinal center line of the thimble. Formed integral with the leverstructure 92 is a pair of operating wings 95 and 96. When pressure isexerted downwardly upon the wing @tithe lever will swing upon the pivotpin 93 to move the pins 913 below dead-center. This will produce alongitudinal pull on the fork Sil to swing the vise members 53 and G8toward each other. When it is desired to release the jaws an upward andforward thrust is applied to the wing 95 to raise the pin 94 andincidentally cause the fork 86 to move forwardly.

In operation of the present invention, the structure is assembled ashere shown, afterwwhich the storage tank is lled with liquid fuel' to.a1

desired level. Air under pressure is then forced into the storage tankby reciprocation of the piston 25 and its piston rod 25. ,A check valvemay be disposed in the passageway 29 to preventl the air from leakingback into the ciylinder il. Liquid fuel may then be placed in theheatgenerating pan 55 and ignited. The valve stem 42 and the fuel cup 39may be rotated to retract the needle valve 3S a desired distance lfromits seat 36. Fuel will then flow into the central portion el of the cup39 from the storage tank it. This fuel will pass upwardly through thesiphon tube i3, then through passageways 59 and 5l into the passageway54, through which it will ilow to the cup 39. rWhen the propervapcrization of the pins 93 is below the normal longitudinal-center y 4It will be recognizedlthat due to the fact that fuel has taken place dueto the heat generated 1 in the pan 5 the fuel may be ignited within thehousing 3i) and a flame will pass upwardly into the chamber C within thevise members 58 and 68. Before or after a suitable degree of heat isattained by the burner the movable vise member 53 may be swung in thedirection of the arrow a, as indicated in Fig. 1, to separate the faces63 and 'I2 of the jaws 62 and 75. It will be noted that as the jawsseparate the free end of the member 'i6 will move down the inclinedfaces 'i9 of the grooves il and will assume a direct relation with thefaces 63 and 'i2 of the jaws. This will lcause the faces 63 and 12 ofthe jaws and the upper face of the members T8 to form three sides of asubstantially square space, into which space a joint 97 formed by twowires 98 and 99 may be disposed. It will be seen that due to the factthat the upper face of the members 'it raises and lowers in directrelation to the degree of separation of the jaw faces 63 and 'l2 thatthe joint 9? will be supported near the upper edge of the jaws '55- 62and T5 irrespective of the diameter of the joint (Fig. 4). This insuresthat the joint will be gripped at a point where maximum force will beapplied and while the joint 9? is being held in an exposed position sothat a soldering operation can be performed conveniently. The jaws aremoved together by pressing downwardly on the member 99 in the directionof the arrow b, as indicated in Fig. l. This will swing the axis of thepin SI5 along an are concentric with the axis of the pins 93 and willthus pull the fork 34 in the direction of the arrow c, as shown in.Fig. 1. When the faces 63 and l2 of the jaws S2 and l5 have been movedto an extreme gripping position against the joint 9"! it will benecessary for the pin 94 to continue beyond the dead-center plane of thepins 93, in which event the spring 9i must compress appropriately. Itwill be noted that when the pin 94 has been moved across and below thedead-c-enter plane the tongue 'I4 spans the space between the .jaw faces63 and 12 at all times there will not be any possibility for a directflame to impinge against the parts of the joint. This insures that theparts may be heated thoroughlyand that solder may be appliedeasilywithout working against or through a heatinglflame. It is also tobe pointed out lthat the burnerstructure here dis'- closed protects thevalve against damage, insures that it may be adjusted accurately andeasily, and furthermore that it'will not be moved out of adjustment dueto any expansion or contraction of the parts as their temperaturechanges.-

It will thus be seen that the device heredisclosed is simplein'construction and arrangement, and may be'operated directly andeffectively to hold and heat'a joint while a soldering operation isbeing performed. v

WhileI have shown thepreferred form of my invention as now known to me,it will be understood that various changes may be made in rcomnbination, construction and arrangement of parts "by those skilled in theart,'without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is: 1. Ina soldering unit, the combination of: a burnerhaving a flame housing extending-upwardly therefrom and through whichthe burning gases 0f combustion are vconducted until theV latter are"discharged from the upper endof said housing; apair of vise memberspivotally related. to each other and mounted upon the upper end of saidburner housing, said vise members uniting to form therebetween arelatively confined chamber having an inlet opening connecting with theopen upper end of said housing to receive the combustion gasesdischarged from said burner housing whereby relatively large interiorsurfaces of said members are exposed to said gases to cause the transferof a substantialv portion of the heat of said gases to said visemembers, said chambers also having escape openings Ifor the dissipationof said gases; jaws provided on said vise members; and means causingrelative rotation between said members to bring'said jaws into grippingrelation with a piece of work and to release said jaws from such arelation.

2. A combination as in claim l in which said jaws are disposed on theopposite side of said chamber from the open upper end of said burnerhousing; and a tongue formed on one of said members and extending acrossthe gap between said jaws into a close shiftable relation with the otherof said members whereby said tongue is interposed between a piece ofwork gripped between said jaws and the combustion gases in said chamberto substantially shield said work from direct contact with saidcombustion gases. n

3. A combination as in claim 2 in which a lifting member is pivotallymounted at one end on one of said vise members, said lifting memberextending across the gap between Vsaid jaws, there being a cam face onthe other of said vise vmembers which said lifting member engages tocause said lifting member to be shifted upwardly against the work assaid vise members are rotated toward against` the work` betweensadjawsas said vise .1.0

members are rotatedtogether into gripping relation'with said work.-

5. In a solderingunit-the combination of; a pair ofarticulate `visemembers having hollowsV whiclrface each other toconjointly forma heatingchamber having an inlet. opening through which a iame maybedischargedinto said chamf ber, and having outlet means through whichgases of combustion may escape fromsaid chamber; a pair of jaws formedrespectively upon said pair of members and movable into and raway-from`clamping relation witha pieceof*workvbyrelative articulation betweensaid members; av tongue e formed upon one of said memberstoextendracross y the gap between said jaws and have sliding rela- Ation with the other vise member to substantially block access of thecombustion A gases-11i; said chamber to said gap and means, for causingsaid articulationwhereby said-jaws gripwwork -therebetween or release,the same. y

6. In a solderingunit, the combination of: a. burner including afiamehousing extending upwardly therefrom. the upper end of. saidhousinghaving apdiseharge opening Mthrough Awhichgthe burning gasesof`combustion in saidhousing are discharged; a pair of vise-,memberspivotally related to each other, .one of saidmembers being mounted uponthe upper. end of said burner hous-v ingVsaid vise members unitingtoform therebetween a relatively confined chamber having an inletopening connecting with said. .discharge tiallyblock access of thecombustion gases in opening :whereby saidcombustion gases aredischargedfromsaid burner housing into said chamber,. sa id,.chamberalso having escape openings for the dissipation of said gases; a pair ofjaws formedrespectively upon said pair of vise membersand movable intoand away from clamping relation with. apiece of work by relativerotation between said members; and means causing relative rotationbetween said members to bring said jaws4 into gripping relation with apiece of work and to release said jaws from such a relation.

7. A combination as in claim 6 in which one of saidjaws is provided witha tongue which underlies the gap between said jaws and has a slidingrelation with the other of said jaws to substansaidchamber to said gap.V

8. A,combinationfas in claim 1 in which a pair of lift ymembers ,areshiftably mounted on said jawsto cross the gap between vsaid jaws; andcamf means for shifting said lift members upwardlyA toipress againstwork as said jaws arc shifted intogripping relation with said work.

WILLIAM A. V INSON.

REFERENCES CITED The vfollowing references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

